along with a majority in the house and regularly re-electing democratic or republican presidents. i think the best route is for the first one. get this filibuster thing done and get it back to what it was back in the 1930s, when we could all root for jimmy stewart and hope he could be that corrupt political machine we all love to hate in that greatest of all political movies. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the mccain gang wants what it wants. today u.n. ambassador susan rice went to capitol hill to meet with the three republican senators who have been her harshest critics over what she said on sunday talk shows about the attacks on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. it was a meeting ambassador rice requested to try and clear the air. she went to the meetings with the acting cia director.

but the republican senators were not swayed, not in the least. in fact, it sounded like they had settled on their talking points. here's what they said after the meeting. >> we are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get. it is clear that the information that she gave the american people was incorrect. >> bottom line, i'm more disturbed more than i was before. here's what i can tell you. the american people got bad information on 16 september, they got bad information from president obama days after. it was unjustified. to give the scenario as presented by ambassador rice and president obama three weeks before an troubled today. clearly the impression that was given, of the information given to the american people was wrong. >> significantly troubled.

more disturbed. their harsh words were somewhat surprising but listening to mccain you could get dizzy because just two days ago he said he would welcome a meeting with obama rice and seemed ready to mend fences. >> is there anything ambassador rice can do to change your mind about it? >> sure. she can give everyone the benefit of explaining their position and the actions they took and i'll be glad to have the opportunity to discuss these issues with her. >> senator mccain promised he'd give ambassador rice the chance to explain how her initial comments on the attack were based on talking points provided by the intelligence community. but apparently they still don't like her answer. here's what ambassador rice had to say about what actually happened today. she said, quote, we explained that the talking points provided by the intelligence community were incorrect. the intelligence assessment has

evolved. we stressed that neither i nor anyone in the administration intended to mislead the american people and the administration updated congress and the american people as our assessments evolved. it's is that simple. that's the truth of what happened following the attacks. but republicans are trying to gin up a scandal and spin this tragedy for their own political gain. joining me tonight is ambassador nicholas burns, former under secretary of state and ambassador to nato. he's now professor of diplomacy and international politics at the j.f. kennedy school of law at harvard. let me thank you both for being here tonight. >> you bet. >> thank you. >> ambassador burns, let me start with you.

you've been a diplomat for a long time. what's your reaction to what happened today? >> well, first, i certainly think congress has an obligation and a right to ask questions. that's their right. their mandate and duty. this was a great tragedy in benghazi. it's wrong to focus on ambassador rice. she was one of many officials trying to put forward an accurate assessment of what happened. she was asked to go on these morning shows. she said what any other administration would have said had they been in her place that day. i think it's unfair to single her out by any objective standard. she has been an effective purposeful and impressive ambassador of the united nations. she has many, many qualifications to serving e in higher office. i've been in both positions, serving in democratic and republican administrations in the past, of going out in public and explaining views.

i know it's always a collective effort to try to determine what one says to explain a position. and so i just think that that -- that the focus on her, the sole focus on her is not correct. i think she deserves better treatment than this. >> congressman, what is your response to today? >> i agree with ambassador burns completely. i think susan rice has been an extraordinary ambassador to the united nations. she's smart, hard working, et c ethical, honest and just a superb candidate for secretary of state, if the president makes that decision. i find it mind-boggling that some of the gop senators continue to go after her. it's completely unjustified. and i can only conclude that having failed to deny the president a second term, they now want to deny him the cabinet of his choice. but that is a terrible disservice to the country. it's a terrible disservice to a dedicated public servant like ambassador rice. and it makes no sense whatsoever. i think they just refuse to take the facts for an answer.

and what is -- is so mind-boggling, really, is that what the ambassador has said is exactly what the head of the national intelligence agency, the dni has said, james clapper. it's the same as general petraeus said. it's the same as the acting director morrell has said. so, if they have an issue, their issue is with the intelligence agency that provided that information to the ambassador, not with the ambassador. but nonetheless, in the face of these quite clear facts, they continue to pick this fight. >> let me push you on that, congressman. so, you're on the intelligence committee, a senior member. what the ambassador's saying to members of congress intention is exactly what everyone else in the intelligence community has said. so then what is the basis of these senators doubting what she's saying if there's no one in intelligence that has contradicted in any way conflicting what she's saying?

>> well, there is no basis for it, which is why it's so inexplicable. what the intelligence community thought at the time, obviously they got this wrong, but they thought at time this began with a protest. it did not give begin with a protest. had the ambassador gone out to the public and said something different than what the intelligence community put forward as its best estimate, then she should have been, i think, subject to legitimate criticism. why were you ignoring what the intelligence community thought at the time? so i think she did what she had to do, which was take the best work product. as ambassador burns pointed out, it is an inter-agency process to come up with that best work process, share that information with the american people. but to go after her, to go after the messener, to besmerch a dedicated civil servant, is a disservice. i was hoping this attack would

have come and gone after the election but it's disturbing to see it continue. >> ambassador let me go back to you for a minute. you said you served in republican and democratic administrations. would susan rice have had any role in the benghazi attacks, aside from speaking on behalf of the white house and the collective, as you say, in the aftermath, would she have had any direct role or knowledge independent of what she was told? >> no. she's not in charge of our policy towards the middle east. you know, you know how these things come about. there's a conference call before any sunday show where the person going on is briefed by a lot of people from a lot of different agencies. the administration determines there's one set of, you know, points they want to use. there's one message we want to get out publicly. so, you know, governments act collectively. this is a collective office.

therefore, to singer her out is a disservice to her. i find this very ironic because here we are at a complex time for the united states. we've got the afghan war, the global economic crisis, the iran nuclear threats, the situation in gaza, troubles in egypt. there's so much that our senior officials have to focus on, these are the real issues people should be asking ambassador rice about. >> now, congressman, hearing the ambassador say that and hearing you is very interesting because we hear senator graham and ayotte say they're going to put a hold on ambassador rice if, in fact, she's nominated to be the secretary of state, they're going to put a hold on her, even though there's no direct responsibility, direct knowledge, and no accusation of direct knowledge by her on any of these matters, and she's saying what, in effect, she was told to say by the intelligence

community. yet we're told that democrats are ready to fight. a democratic aide tells nbc news, this is getting people's back up. the general sense of mood is this is ridiculous. she's obviously qualified. no one on our side thinks there's any substance whatsoever to the republican criticisms. the aide also questioned whether republicans, besides mccain, graham and ayotte would think this was a smart fight to pick. after all, it would be a high-profile fight with a qualified african-american woman. >> and she's not just qualified. she is supremely well qualified. she has tremendous experience. she's been enormously successful with her work at the u.n. we were able to marshal some of the most significant sanctions on iran for its pursuit of a nuclear program. she helped work together the coalition that freed the libyan people of moammar gadhafi.

she has an extraordinary track record. and so go after her, to try to deny the president his choice for secretary of state, if he makes that choice, is a teshter disservice to someone with an extraordinary record, in a higher office, a great talent and simply makes no sense. i can only conclude because i appreciate the effort the u.n. ambassador had when she sat down with the senators, they had their minds made up. it was a losing purpose. it was a losing argument during the presidential campaign. it's even more of a losing argument now. as ambassador burns said there are a lot of international issues we should be focusing on. the question is, where are we in the hunt for those responsible, not where are we in our efforts to attack susan rice.

this is an enormous distraction. it's also been destructive in terms of the intelligence community process because the intelligence community is going to feel that they should never give us initial assessments again. that isn't right either. but to the degree that people have jumped down their throats, it will make them more reluctant to provide us early information. that, i think, disserves us, so i think -- >> i have to leave it there, congressman and ambassador. i must say, i must point out that ambassador rice also met with senator joe leieberman who usually teams up with senator ayotte as well as senator graham and he had a different reaction. let me show this quickly. >> to me, based on her public record and her public service, barring some evidence to the contrary, i think she's answered the questions that i have about

why she said the things she did on sunday morning talk shows. >> so, joe lieberman seems satisfied, unlike the others who he is usually agreed with. wonders never cease. i'm going to stay on this one. ambassador burns and congressman schiff, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. president obama's taking his fairness fight on the road. wait until you hear what install business leaders are saying about him. plus something happened to chris christie today that might, i repeat, might start a new trend in the gop. and these massively long voting lines in florida didn't happen by accident. the former florida gop chairman is spilling all the secrets from behind the curtain tonight. and what in the world are these naked people doing in speaker boehner's office today?

you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc.

president obama won a mandate to help the middle class. now he's hitting the road to make sure republicans in washington get message. that's next. to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur.

tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. i've got one mandate.

i've got a mandate to help middle class families and families that are working hard to try to get in the middle class. that's my mandate. that's what the american people said. they said, work really hard to help us. >> that is the president's plan date. whether boehner and company like it or not. and today at the white house, the president continued to build his case. he met with small business owners to keep the focus on letting the bush tax cuts expire for the rich. it's all part of a campaign to get a fair deal done. tomorrow he'll meet with a group of middle class americans who will explain how they'd be affected if republicans let their tax rates increase. he'll also have another meeting with ceos. on friday, the president's heading back on the road. he'll visit a pennsylvania toy manufacturer that depends on middle class shoppers, especially during the holiday season. this president knows how to make the case for the middle class.

but will he be able to convince the rest of washington to get on board? joining me now is victoria day fran ce francessco society toe and dada milbank. thank you for coming on the show. victoria, how important is this new campaign? >> it's incredibly important. we've seen the president and his team have learned from their mistake. the mistake of 2010 of not capitalizing on the mobile outreach they developed with the 2008 campaign and instead they ended up with a shellacking. the last was wasting time and energy early on in his negotiation. and trying to negotiate with republicans when there was a stalemate. having learned from these mistakes the president has bypassed the stalemated congress

and taken it to the people. here he was relying on his electoral connection. we saw a hint of this in his election night speech where he said the role of citizens in a democracy does not end with voting. that you have to stay active in pushing on the policies you need. so, we saw the hint, so we shouldn't be surprised he's taking the show on the road. >> when we look at the fact american people support his proposals, 72% say the gop should compromise, 67% on a mix of spending cuts and tax increases, 56% say we should raise tax on the wealthy. him going on the road is, what, to energize this and not leave it in washington like what was done before? is he learning from his mistakes of last time around? >> yeah, i think that's right. this is about learning. and this is -- he's basically undoing what he did wrong in the selling of obama care. he merely assumed that the policy would sell itself, leaving it up to congress to

negotiate. and the republicans in many respects ate his lunch on that and really won the debate here. this is the way george w. bush ran his presidency. whether you liked or didn't like george w. bush, he was always out there being a salesman. it's the reality that we live in a entire campaign. it is strictly the only way to do this business. >> now, it would seem also, victoria, that the president is in a better position to really make his case. his approval rating is 52%. congress's approval rating is only 18%. so with him on the road with that kind of gap in who has the higher approval numbers, which is no comparison, that's got to put some pressure on members of congress. >> absolutely. and, again, he's coming off the

wave of the outreach wave of the 2012 campaign. it is really important he sells this policy, even though people indicate they support it, because at the same time, even though republicans are complaining that he's going on the road, republicans themselves right now are organizing themselves, house republicans, to take their own show on the road. so, the president is going to have pressure and competition from republican house members. it cannot sell itself, as dana said, and especially with the pushback of republicans in congress. >> now, dana, when you look at the data out today, it shows the economy heading in the right direction. consumer confidence at a four-year high. home prices increased for six straight months. then when you hear some of the small business owners who met with the president today, they were very vocal in their support of what he's doing. let me show some of what was said after the meeting by some of the small business owners. >> i was very encouraged by the

meeting. i felt the president, you know, he really delivered a message of confidence. >> i'm real enthusiastic about president obama and what he's done. >> saying that tax breaks for the rich drive consumers lower down to spend is like saying you can jumpstart -- you can start your car by pouring gasoline on the hood. >> now, soon behind those speakers they'll be negotiating in the west wing. does this work? will this help the president at the negotiating table with the opposition, the republican leadership? >> the opposition responds only to strengths. so to the extent it boosts his numbers for his policy in the polls, it will help them. but i think so there's something else going on here. that is a bit of the blame game in advance. there's more pessimism now that they'll be able to work something out by the deadline. if we go off the fiscal cliff and all those good economic

numbers turn south, the question is who's going to be blamed for this. a lot of what the president's doing now is making sure that he's not the one who's going to be blamed, that it will be the republicans. that, in turn, puts him in a better bargaining position. >> now, victoria, in 2004 president obama, after his re-election, said he earned political capital. but he wasn't able to accomplish some of his biggest second-term goals. let me show you what mr. bush had to say at that point. >> i earned capital in the campaign, political capital. now i intend to spend it. it is my style. that's what happened in -- after the 2000 election. i earned some capital. i've earned capital in this election and i'm going to spend it. >> but he spent it but he didn't get a lot of what he was trying to push done. is the president, by continuing to go out, continuing a campaign after election day, sort of learning also, not only from what he might not have done

before, but what george bush and other incumbent presidents may not have done in their second term around thinks they wanted to achieve by continuing to campaign and energizing the american people around the policies that he wants to implement? >> reverend, it's good to earn from your own mistakes but even better to learn from the mistakes of others. i definitely think that the president and his team, in looking at how to keep the pressure on and selling this message, is learning from george w. bush's mistakes. george w. bush said, i got elected, this is it, i can go out a little bit but it's a fullcourt press. that is needed. because republicans are going to be recalcitrant. they say, why do we have to negotiate? we have room to get beaten up. the president knows this and this is why the pressure is on. >> also, i think the difference, dana, what the president is pushing here, as i said earlier,

showed the poll numbers, the american public wants to see happen, they're supportive. george bush did go out pushing on social security but it was unpopular. it wasn't what the american people wanted. >> well, not only was it unpopular but sort of an elective thing. it wasn't something that needed to be taken care of urgently. obama is focusing on the economy now to the extent he didn't focus immediately on the economy in his first term. he is focusing on the central issue and the key issue what will be the key issue of his presidency. so, he's in much stronger ground to defend his turf here than bush was in privatizing social security. >> victoria defrancesco soto and dana milbank, thank you. chris christie worked with president obama on hurricane sandy and voters are loving it. so why are republicans ignoring his example? we'll tell you why mr. 47% really is mr. 47%. you'll love this story. plus, speaker boehner got a

big surprise today. why are naked people in his office? stay with us. sometimes what we suffer from is bigger than we think ... like the flu. with aches, fever and chills- the flu's a really big deal.

so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. prescription tamiflu attacks the flu virus at its source. so don't wait. call your doctor right away. tamiflu is prescription medicine for treating the flu in adults and children one year and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing. have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. the flu comes on fast, so ask your doctor about tamiflu. prescription for flu.

have you joined the "politicsnation" conversation on facebook yet? today's topic was the latest

republican attacks on ambassador susan rice. theodore says, it didn't matter what she said to them. their plan was to put her down regardless. folks were also buzzing about the activists who showed up in speaker boehner's office today without clothes on. they were protesting potential cuts to hiv/aids programs that the republicans are pushing. nancy says, she'd love to have been a fly on the wall just to see boehner's reaction. akeem says, this is something boehner will definitely turn red over. we want to know what you think of this unorthodox protest or anything else on your mind. please just head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and "like" us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. [ male announcer ] red lobster's hitting the streets

to tell real people about our new 15 under $15 menu. oh my goodness! oh my gosh, this looks amazing! [ male announcer ] our new maine stays! 15 entrees under $15, seafood, chicken and more! oo! the tilapia with roasted vegetables! i'm actually looking at the wood grilled chicken with portobello wine sauce. that pork chop was great! no more fast food friday's! we're going to go to red lobster. yep. [ male announcer ] come try our new menu and sea food differently! and introducing 7 lunch choices for just $7.99. salad, sandwiches, and more. ever wonder where being divisive gets you?

what happens when you push people apart instead of bringing them together? if you're governor romney, that sort of attitude, you get 47% of the popular vote. it's now official. mr. 47% will go down in the history books as getting 47% of the vote. how's that for irony? but you want to know what number you get when you compromise? 72%. that's the approval rating for new jersey governor chris christie after working across the aisle with president obama to deal with hurricane sandy. that's the lesson of this election. americans are yearning for cooperation and bipartisanship. but most republicans, they don't get the message. speaker john boehner is threatening to take us to the brink again by refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless he gets what he wants in the tax fight. he told the president, quote, it's my leverage. he said, quote, there's a price

for everything. over in the senate, gop leader mitch mcconnell is striking the same tone. >> look, we already know the president's a very good campaigner. we congratulate him on his re-election. what we don't know is whether he has the leadership qualities necessary to lead his party to a bipartisan agreement. >> mr. one-term-president mcconnell is resorting to name-calling. the gop lost because of this attitude. and now they're just looking like a lost cause. joining me now is steve car kna krystal ball. why doesn't the gop look to chris christie assist a role model? he's the most popular person in their party right now? >> hopefully some in the gop do. you have to remember that a lot of people, a lot of folks in the republican party were very upset

with chris christie for being so bipartisan, for -- for daring to compliment the president for his responsiveness in hurricane sandy, so there's still some upset there over that. you know, i think the other thing this points out, you were mentioning, chris christie underscoring how important bipartisanship and cooperation is to voters. the other thing i think it underscores is how effective government is important to voters. peel saw him doing a great job handling hurricane sandy and republicans for so long have been the party of obstructionism, of doing everything they can to keep government from working. that's the other message. people to want see a government that actually works. >> and a government that deals together in crisis, when something is above what is normal. steve, i'm no fan of chris christie, but i give him respect for what he did there. so why don't republicans understand that there's some

things that has to rise above partisan bickering. >> you have to look at incentives at work for these guys. chris christie is up for re-election next year. if he's going to win re-election in new jersey, a state obama carried by 17 points, he has to win a fair number ofho voted for obama this year, get them to vote for him as a republican next year. most. republicans in congress right now, most republican members of the house hail from safely conservative republican districts where their victory margins were double digits. these guys are much more responsive to threats inside their parties. not being conservative enough, anti-obama enough, all the things that play in the republican universe. they don't have to worry about getting democratic votes to be protected. they have to protect themselves from the republican primary. they look at the fiscal cliff, whatever it is, and no incentive for them to cooperate, even in the broader interest of their party. >> even if you live in an area that was impacted, whatever

party, you want to see cooperation and see people that will make government work, kryst krystal. i don't care if christie did it for facetious reasons or cynical, you might drag me out of the water to get me on the front page of the paper, i don't care as long as i'm out of the water. >> that's a great point. i totally agree with you on that, regardless of what christie's incentives are. i will say this is a big question for republicans. you know, they have for so long moved their party to the right to play to their base. and they've had these organizations like club for growth and the tea party, that put forward these far right ideological pure right candidates against more moderate-leaning republicans in primary and it has forced the entire party and the country as a whole to the right. they've forced the center to the right. interestingly where the democratic party is today has also been moved to the right. i think it's part of the problem republicans have now coming back to the center and still striking

a sort of ideologically centerest place the republican party is in today. >> in all this unity we saw with the president and mr. christie, boehner, the speaker and majority leader cantor are calling for health care to be part of the negotiations. take a listen to this. >> if the president is serious about joining us and fixing the problem, he ought to beob the ticket that wanted to repeal former republican party chairman of florida, who's blowing the whistle. stay with us. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores.

rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase.

it's not for colds, it's not for pain, it's just for sleep. because sleep is a beautiful thing. ♪ zzzquil, the non-habit forming sleep-aid from the makers of nyquil. a new way to save on your prescriptions. it's the aarp medicarerx saver plus plan from unitedhealthcare. with this plan, you can get copays as low as a dollar through a preferred network pharmacy like walgreens -- where you'll find 8,000 convenient locations. best of all, this plan has the lowest part d premium

in the united states -- only $15 a month. open enrollment ends december 7th. so call today or visit your local walgreens. till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8. or...try kids boxes!

republicans have learned all the wrong lessons from this election. and they're still trying to suppress the vote. here's virginia's attorney general today. >> obama lost every one of those states. he can't win in a state where photo i.d. is required, so clearly there's something going on out there. >> your ton suggests you're upset with me. you're preaching to the choir. i'm with you completely.

>> he agreed completely. really? his office later had to come out and say he does, in fact, believe president obama won the election. and we've told you how wisconsin governor scott walker wants to end same-day voter registration. supposedly to relieve the burden on his poor, overworked poll workers. >> they have volunteers who work 13-hour days, most cases are retirees. it's difficult for them to handle the kind of valiant of folks who come at the last milt. it would be better if registration was done in advance of voter day. >> better for walker but not for the poll workers he's talking about. a top official in the city clerk's association says walker's proposal would make it more burdensome, a logistical

nightmare. in florida the scandal over the long voting lines continue to grow with a new report showing exactly why republicans passed a law last year scaling back early voting hours. the palm beach post says the law was, quote, intentionally designed by florida gop staff and consultants to inhibit democratic voters. they say the republican fraud concerns to advance only as subterfuge as the law's main purpose, gop victory. now all of florida's democratic members of congress have sent a letter to the u.s. commission on civil rights demanding a federal investigation. joining me now is jim greer, former chair of the florida republican party. he's been telling us for months about this voter suppression. and he was a key source for "the post" article. thank you for joining me. >> good to be here again, al. >> are you pleased that more

republicans are admitting they were deliberately trying to suppress the vote? >> well, i'm pleased that for the first time people have shown courage by coming out and saying what jim greer has been saying as the truth. charlie crist came out, our former governor, and even a former gop consultant, who didn't want to be named, he said what i've been saying actually did occur. >> now, we've got the "palm beach post" quoted a strategist from the early 2008 voting days. wayne bertsch said, when we started seeing the increase of turnout and the turnout operations that the democrats were doing early voting, it certainly sent chills down our spines. >> well, i've told you before, the republican party and the strategists never liked early voting. republicans, they believe don't win in early voting. so, what they have to do is decrease, if not eliminate early voting as much as they could. and they did.

and you saw what happened this last election. >> now, when you look at this unnamed gop strategist, who says this about to the polls, the sunday before election, where ministers would encourage their parishioners to go to the polls, listen to what this strategist said. i know that cutting out the sunday before election day was one of the targets only because that's a big day when the black churches organize themselves. here's a direct, not only assault on a party, but on a race and denial of voting rights. i mean, there's nothing more un-american, undemocratic than this. and i'm talking democratic in the terms of democracy, not in terms of parties. luckily some of the ministers like the bishop and others down in -- victor curry and others turned that around the sunday

before. but this was a direct strategy here, mr. greer. >> absolutely. i told you political consultants and the strategists are the ones who put this type of legislation together. they put it together to keep voters that typically won't vote republican from getting to the polls. the republican party needs to change the way it does business. it needs to embrace minority voters. it shouldn't give up on minority voters. and it should play by the election rules. not change the rules every couple of years to benefit the republican party. >> but even if -- >> the party -- >> -- they don't want to embrace minority voters. we're talking about them denying their right to vote. it's one thing if you have a strategy you don't want to go after people. it's another to deny them their rights. >> there's no doubt about it. the way the republican party in florida, some of its current leaders, some past leaders, and even in other states operate is to win at all costs.

if we can't win on public policy positions, let's keep people from getting to the polls, let's keep them from registering. let's keep power at all costs. that's what's gone on in florida. if there ever needed to be a federal investigation of the voting violations, the voting laws, it's here in florida and in some other states. >> no doubt about it. now, former florida governor charlie crist was on my dshow days before the election. saying these long lines were voter suppression. >> it's hard to interpret it any other way, reverend al. i think it is voter suppression. it's ridiculous. my heart bleeds for the people of florida. they ought to have the right to have this cherished, precious right to vote. a lot of people fought very hard for people to have that right. some died for it. we ought to respect it. >> rick scott won't even answer the question, but former governor charlie crist was right. some died for it. some of us are not going to let

people get away with it. jim greer, thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you, al. it was a pleasure to be here. >> we'll be right back. it's ame people are when you tell them they could save a lot of money on their car insurance by switching to geico...they may even make you their best man. may i have the rings please? ah, helzberg diamonds. nice choice, mate. ...and now in the presence of these guests we join this loving couple. oh dear... geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. those little things for you, life's about her. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity.

do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial.

if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. now it's time for "storytime with rev al". >> that's right. we have a very special story tonight. we learned today that todd akin is considering writing a book. you remember mr. akin.

he was a shoo-in for a senate seat in missouri until he talked about legitimate rape and his candidacy legitimately sank like a stone. we at "politicsnation" imagine just what this might look like. it's called too legit to quit:how i became a household name for all the wrong reasons. i like the title, senator -- i mean, mr. akin. let's get right in to it. he opens strong. an area of true expertise. chapter one, titled "biology by akin," here's a passage. so now i guess i'm known as the legitimate rape guy. and after thinking about it, i guess it's not so bad. in fact, i've kind of embraced it. now, everyone knows my name. and, hey, science is overrated anyway. here's my advice to kids. when in doubt, make stuff up. incredible read so far.

so let's go on to chapter two. this one is titled "my pal paul." during my 11 years in congress, paul ryan was my comrade and my partner against women's rights. paul, all never forget our times together trying to redefine rape. these were the days. and don't worry, buddy, i got the message. i'll never again say out loud what we really think. very candid, mr. akin. and check it out, the book even comes with pictures. here's one of the dynamic duo. what a nice trip down memory lane. well, let's move on to chapter three. this one is titled "you can always do worse." also, let's move here, here's how. after you've alienated and